Her son, Private James Prevete, was 22 years old when he died fighting in the war in Iraq on October 10, 2004. On Monday, his mother honored his life once again in the neighborhood where he grew up.

Prevete hung a wreath on the northeast corner of 147th Place and 5th Avenue, which is named in honor of her son, in front of her home of 35 years with State Senator Tony Avella.

“He was like the life of the party and the spark plug of the block,” Prevete remembered. “James said he never wanted to be forgotten, and thanks to Tony and people like him, he wont be.”

The ceremony was part of Avella's annual 9/11 Memorial Motorcade, which visited 25 streets in his district that have been renamed for 9/11-related casualties.

Prevete's son went to Holy Trinity Grammar School in Whitestone, St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows and Sacred Heart University in Connecticut before attending Queens College, and later enlisting in the Army.

“We’ve memorialized the victims of 9/11, and of course in this case, James, who enlisted after 9/11, went and fought and died in Iraq as part of the War on Terrorism,” Avella said. “This is another opportunity for us to remember those who passed away, their lives and everything they meant to us.”

Starting at 130th Street and 25th Avenue in Whitestone, Avella met with the families of fallen firefighters, soldiers, and citizens across northeast Queens.

“The people who passed away on 9/11, they were our friends, they were our relatives, they were our neighbors, they were part of New York City,” Avella said, “and I don’t think there is anyone who didn’t know somebody who passed away.”